Injustice 3: The Might of Magic (Book 3)

The Man:

Stepping through the portal, moving from the hidden city back to the hidden base, I look back at everyone as they slowly enter. As the last person steps on through, I hear footsteps and turn my head.

"Hey," Iris says, walking out of the infirmary. Behind her are the Doc, Zatanna, Constantine, and even Ares. "What happened? Is everything ok--"

Before Iris can finish, Constantine cuts her off.

"Excuse me," he says, pushing Iris back. "Sorry, miss. I'm not trying to be rude but I have to ask this bloke something important."

Constantine turns back to me. He claps his hands, takes a breath, and starts.

"Excuse my language. Your Doctor already told me you have something against 'bad words' so again, excuse my language, but what the hell did you do!"

I look around first and see many confused faces. When I confirmed it, I turn back to Constantine.

"Yeah, none of us know what you're talking about? What are you talking about?"

Constantine slaps his face. He covers his eyes behind his hand. Seeing this, Zatanna steps forward.

"We want to know what happened," Zatanna says. "For the past few hours, John, Ares, and I have been sensing something off with the magical plane. It feels like something is missing."

"What happened," Ares asks.

"The Lord of Order released Trigon into this world," I start. "I had to stop them, and Trigon."

"No way," Constantine says, shaking his head. "You lot defeated the Lords of Order? And Trigon?"

"Not us," Oliver says, nudging his head. "Him."

I raise my hand.

"You defeated both the Lords of Order and Trigon," Zatanna repeats. "By yourself? How?"

I tap one of my jacket pockets.

"I had some help when it came to beating Trigon. As for the Lords of Order, well, I would rather not talk about it. Actually, I need to talk to three about something else."

"What is it," Zatanna asks.

"Without the Lords of Order, magic is flowing unchecked throughout the world. I know I am asking a lot, especially for you three, but will you, Constantine, and Ares please watch over the magic?"

"You can't be serious," Ares says. "I am the God of War! I thrive in chaos and war!"

"Sorry mate," Constantine answers, backing up. "Nope! Not doing that. I ain't one for responsibilities and duties!"

Zatanna is the only one who doesn't say anything. Instead, she is just standing there with a wide open mouth.

"I know I am asking for a lot," I start, holding my hand out. I then point at Ares and Constantine. "Especially for you two, but I also know this. You three came to me. You sought me out because you learned the Lords of Order would be trying to kill me, and despite everything, you still risk everything to save me. I can't thank you enough, but again, I know this is asking for a lot, possibly too much, but magic left unchecked is dangerous. There had to be people to look over it, to watch it carefully, and at the moment, I see no better candidate then--"

"Us three," Zatanna says, pointing at herself, Constantine, and Ares.

"Well, actually, I'm now thinking of the four of you."

"Four?"

I turn and look at the once-powerful but still very knowledgeable Dr. Fate.

"Kent Nelson."

Kent's head shoots up when he hears his name.

"Me," Kent asks, pointing at himself. "Wait. You can't be serious. In case you forgot, I lost my Helmet of Fate. Again."

"How could I forget? I'm the one that got rid of the stupid thing. The second time. Not the first time. The first time, Superman crushed it with his bare hands. Anyway, despite not having your helmet or your link to Nabu, you still know a lot about magic. Your knowledge will be your greatest asset. No. It would be one of your and their greatest assets."

I slowly turn to Zatanna, Constantine, and Ares.

"Are you asking us to become the...new Lords of Order," Kent asks.

"No, I am not. The Lords of Order are gone now. I am asking the four of you to be something new. Something more. The guardians of magic. The protectors of law and order. I don't know what you want to call yourself but I do know that together, you four can safeguard magic, ensuring it is used properly and safely. Only your four."

I can tell my words are having a hard time sinking in. Constantine is stepping back with his hands up. Ares is shaking his head. Kent is frozen, like Cold or Kara trapped him in a block of ice. I don't have to read their minds to know they don't want to be the 'guardians' or 'protector' or anything like that.

"We'll do it," Zatanna says, her voice grabbing our attention. "We'll do it. All four of us."

"You can't be serious," Constantine says out loud.

"I don't have any magic," Kent screams.

Ares opens his mouth, about to say something, but Zatanna cuts him off. She turns around and faces the three of them.

"The man in the sunglasses is right," she starts. "Ares. Constantine. We all found each other because we discovered the Lords of Order's plans. They wanted to kill the man and we, the three of us, knew we couldn't let that happen. We risked everything to save him, and we did, but it came with a cost. The Lords are gone now and without them, there is no one to safeguard the magic. The magic will just run wild. Like a raging river, destroying everything in its sight."

It seems, unlike my words, Zatanna's words are sinking it. Constantine isn't stepping back anymore. Ares stops shaking his head. Even Kent is moving slightly.

"It's up to us now to protect both the magic and the world," Zatanna says. She looks at the three and opens her hand. "Will you help me?"

Constantine, Ares, and Kent look at each other slowly, one by one, they put their hands on top of Zatanna.

"Thank you," I say. Zatanna, Constantine, Ares, and Kent turn around to look at me. I bow my head before them.

"Come on," Zatanna says, leading the others to the portal. "We should see how things are right now before figuring out what to do next."

Stepping out of the way, I watch with a smile as the new protectors of magic leave the base.

"Hey," I say, stopping Zatanna and the others. "Before you go."

I reach into my pocket and pull out a spare cell phone.

"Catch!"

Throwing the cell phone, Zatanna catches it.

"In case you ever need some extra help," I say. I then draw a small magical rune with my finger. Tipping the rune over, I hold it with my other hand. Sprinkling a little bit of dust on the rune, I summon an adorable dragon that flies away. I end my trick by making my 'adorable' dragon breathe fire.

Zatanna smiles and nods back. After everything is said and done, Zatanna and the rest of her new team walk through a portal and out of the base.